Meticulous
by thedaryldixon
Summary: JJ has just left the Bureau and Aaron Hotchner is taking full charge. As chief of the BAU, it's his task to recruit new members for the team. However, his newest recruit, by the name of Dr Morris, may cause more trouble than she's worth, especially when it comes to Agent Dave Rossi
1. Chapter 1

"Everyone, can I introduce our newest member who is starting today, Doctor Kadi Morris." No-one looked up from the centralised oak table. Agent Prentiss scribbled furiously on a notepad as Agent Rossi flicked effortlessly through a box of files. Agent Hotchner continued regardless. "Agent Morris, these are Agents Derek Morgan, Emily Prentiss, David Rossi and-"

"Morris?" Dr Spencer Reid interrupted. "Professor of Fuel Sciences Kadi Morris?"

"Doctor Reid, I was hoping we would get to meet." Agent Morris pursed her lips and eyed him up and down. As women go, Kadi Morris was not particularly bad looking. Nor was she exceedingly pretty, with softened golden ringlets and doe-like brown eyes, she was, in fact, excessively average. She continued, "I read your latest article on mathematical facial symmetry in terms of victims of those with narcissistic personality disorders, fascinating really."

"Oh!" Reid rocked on his heels and smiled awkwardly. "Well, Thank you-" He tried to continue but was cut off by her soft, sharp words. "It was no way near my standard of writing, of course, but you did only graduate high school at 12 so I'll let it slide." Morris slid off her somber black coat and perched confidently on the remaining seat, Grey high waisted skirt and white blouse sitting perfectly on her curvy frame, void of a single crease. One thing was for sure, Kadi Morris was meticulous, in her job and in her ironing.

Penelope Garcia bustled into the room, clutching a pile of print-outs before being halted by the newcomer's icy glare. Agent Morris turned back to the rest of the team and cleared her throat.

"For those of you that don't know me, my name is Doctor Kadi Morris, Professor of Fuel sciences at Berkley, Doctor of Chemistry, Biochemistry, Philosophy and anthropology and soon to be a Doctor of Criminal Psychology."

"Wow." Agent Morgan smirked. "You really give Reid a run for his money, don't you?" Reid tried not to scowl. Morris had five years on him, not to mention that she finished High School at 10 and a half before receiving her first doctorate by the age of 18.

"Negative, I have an IQ of 189, Doctor Reid has an IQ of 187." "Dear God," Emily murmured "There's two of them!" Morgan sniggered and Penelope hovered beside him, handing out the paper still warm from printing.

"Okay, so, I worked my techy-magic and found twenty people who match the exact profile - Men in their mid to late thirties, with a history of spousal abuse, prior convictions for illegal steroid use and who drive dark coloured sudans." Agent Hotchner took the photographs from her outstretched hand and tacked them to the board behind him, standing back to survey his work.

"Which one of these men would have had the opportunity to survey the homes of several families long enough to know their daily routine?" Rossi mused, eyeing Morris cautiously as she swiftly got up from her chair and began to rearrange the photographs

"These three men work as real estate agents, so would have had access to any houses up for sale in the tristate area. You, can you see if there were any houses for sale near to the victim's houses? On the same street maybe?" She snapped, pushing herself onto her toes to reach the uppermost photograph.

"You? Don't talk to Penelope like that-" Morgan began, silenced swiftly by a glare from Garcia

"It's okay, my Chocolate god. I'll get to it right away, Kadi-"

"Call me Dr Morris." She murmured without emotion, sinking back into her chair and folding one leg over the other with precise motion. Everything she did was perfect- her papers were aligned perfectly in front of her, not 1 degree out of place. Her nails were trimmed and manicured a muted pink without a single chip to be seen. She was immaculate.

Penelope Garcia left the room, bustling back to her overcrowded office to spend another two hours following dead end leads.

"This man has been killing fathers in front of their families, surely someone must have seen something?" Agent Prentiss asked. "I think we should interview the children again."

"They've already been through enough, why don't Dr Morris and I talk to Mrs Stanthorpe again, see what she remembers?" Morris scowled and wrinkled her nose.

"I'd rather not talk to the subjects." She said coldly, rising from her seat and striding over to the door. "Agent Hotchner, can you show me where my desk will be?" She asked from the doorway. Seemingly, it was only Hotch that she spoke to with a shred of respect. Agent Hotchner nodded and followed her small strides, leaving behind an echoing silence.

"Well..." Emily muttered, as if it summed everything up.

"Subjects? Who the hell does she think she is?" Morgan growled, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingertips.

"She's a scientist. It's probably all she knows-" Rossi began.

"Statistically speaking, scientists are supposed to be more empathetic people than doctors." Reid butted in. "Although in this case, She is the exception..."

"'I have an IQ of 189' Oh come on, really?" Morgan shook his head. "I don't know what Hotch was thinking."

"She's a real peach." Rossi remarked sarcastically.


	2. Chapter 2

It was rare for a case to be so close to Quantico headquarters that the BAU could interview witnesses in the comfort of their own interrogation room. Rossi stood quietly beside Hotch, surveying the woman through the one-way mirrored glass. She couldn't see them, but they could see her and watched her attentively. They knew that she wasn't a suspect, but there was something just not quite right about the recently bereaved Mrs Stanthorpe. The clacking of heels drew Rossi out of deep thought as the curvy frame of Dr Morris appeared beside him.

"Do either of you happen to have some glasses on you?" She asked calmly, pinning a name label to her blouse. Rossi frowned as Hotch passed her the reading glasses nestled in his inside jacket pocket. She slipped them on and drew her hair up into a tight bun. "This should be a great learning experience for you, Agent Rossi." She mused, straightening out her skirt.

"I have been in the BAU decades more than you have. I am an accomplished author and Behavioural analyst so tell me, why would this be a great learning experience for me?" He cocked an eyebrow inquisitively and the corners of Hotch's mouth twitched up into a smile.

"You're an author? Can't say I have ever heard of you, but I do only read the best of literature so it goes without saying that I would never have read your work. And if you are as experienced as you say you are, Agent Rossi, then why do we not have a criminal behind bars?" She pushed open the interrogation room door and stepped calmly inside.

"She does not promote herself very well." He muttered as she settled into her seat, opposite Mrs Stanthorpe. "Hello madam, my name is Doctor Morris and I will be interviewing you today." Morris adjusted her glasses. "I am one of the leading analysts at the Bureau and I wish to ask you a few questions, is that okay?"

Within 5 minutes, Eva Stanthorpe had confessed to two affairs and one illegitimate child.

"Excuse me for one moment, Mrs Stanthorpe." Kadi pushed open the door, removing the glasses and shaking her hair free of the bun.

"How did you do that?" Rossi asked, amazed. She had gotten more out of the witness in five minutes than the whole team managed to in two days.

"From an anthropological standpoint, Mrs Stanthorpe is a suburban housewife. There is nothing suburban housewives respond to more than severe authority figures. It's simple cultural studies." She responded nonchalantly. "I believe that if we were to interview the other two wives that they will have both been unfaithful."

"What are you saying, that our unsub is killing men who have been cheated on? What possible motive could he have?" Rossi remarked, cracking his fingers, deep in thought.

"Perhaps, or maybe he was snubbed in the past? Rejection by a married woman could definitely be a trigger." Hotch responded, furrowing his dark brow "Maybe, or maybe he's sparing the father's pain... Come with me." Dr Morris strode purposefully off to the bullpen as Rossi informed a very tearful Mrs Stanthorpe that she could leave.

All eyes were on Morris as she swung open the conference room door and drew up a clean board at the front of the room. "This man is only killing fathers, with young children. We need to interview the other two women but I suspect that they too have had affairs. Our unsub is an 'angel of mercy', or so to speak. In his childhood we are likely to find that his mother died suddenly when he was young, and his father killed himself soon after. Ms Garcia, see what you can find newspaper wise."

Penelope nodded and trotted off, pleased that her tone of voice was a fraction less icy than it was earlier.

"What do you propose then, Dr Morris?" Dr Reid asked inquisitively, propping his glasses back onto his nose.

"I propose that our Unsub's mother was unfaithful to her father, that the father found out and the family began to fall apart. How and when his parent dies, and under what circumstances, we are yet to know."

Emily Prentiss raised an eyebrow quizzically. "And you got all this from one interview?" She asked, smirking beneath her shocking black bangs.

"No," Dr Morris replied. "I got all that and more from one interview." Her eyes gleamed with what seemed like amusement for a moment, but it was soon replaced by her frostiness once again. "Dr Reid, would you mind showing me where Ms Garcia keeps her office? I wish to talk to her."

Spencer Reid swallowed loudly. He wasn't going to lie to himself, this woman was intimidating. It wasn't often that he met someone on his wavelength, let alone someone supposedly more intelligent that he was. He rose from his chair, trying to reach the door but tripping over his own feet in the first place as Prentiss tried not to laugh and Morgan slapped him on the back encouragingly. Dr Morris was already halfway down the halfway by the time Reid caught up with her. She had a fast stride for a short woman and Spencer struggled to keep up.

"So, Kadi-"

"Do not call me that, Dr Reid. I command the professionalism that you award your coworkers." She didn't even turn to look at him, just softly smirked. She enjoyed intimidating the handsome young man.

"Apologies, Dr Morris, but you won't get very far round here with an attitude like that." He responded cooly, waiting for that icy glare to pierce him once more.

"I'm well aware of that, Spencer." Her voice had softened and her stride slowed. Spencer studied her face, profiling her like only he knew so well how to do. "Women like me don't get very far being nice, either." Her voice hardened once more as she pushed open the door to Penelope's office. "Thank you, dr Reid. That will be all." And she stepped inside.

Penelope Garcia didn't even notice her enter the room and shut the door with a click behind her, she was too engrossed in her computers, hands flying over the keys.

"Linux I see," She mused, stepping closer and startling Penelope. "I'm a Linux girl too." What seemed to almost be a smile crept onto her pale features.

"You know code?" Penelope grinned, nails still clacking away at the keys.

"Darling, I wrote the book on code. Just don't tell anyone I said that. Its one thing being a genius, but entirely different if you code too." Did she really just tell this extravagantly dressed woman that?

"Ah, I find it adds to the sex appeal, sugar." Penelope beamed, swivelling round to face her. "Oh-" Morris looked crestfallen.

"I'm not sure about that, I haven't had coitus in three years, eleven months and six days."

"Wait, what?" Garcia exclaimed. "Woman, that's not good enough! Look, you're new here, but this is how it works- let your love goddess Penelope find you some loving, okay?"

A glaring beeping drew Garcia from the conversation and back to her screens. "I have one match. A Timothy Curtis, 1892 Evergreen Drive. It says here that his mother was found with a sliced corotted artery and that custody of her son went to the father... Wait, sliced artery, isn't that the same MO as the past three victims?" Penelope remarked, still tapping away,

"Indeed. What does it say about the father?"

"Jeffrey Curtis, died one week later, found... Oh god."

"What is it, Penelope?"

"Found by his Son Timothy, ruled as a suicide. That poor boy..."

"That poor boy killed three innocent men. Does he still live at the same address?"

"Indeed, captain. Wait, where are you going?" Dr Morris bustled out of the room.

"We have an unsub to catch, tell them to meet me there!"

Agent Morris did not carry guns. She found them crude and archaic, much preferring hand to hand combat. Or, in this case, knife to hand combat. She crouched in front of 1892 Evergreen drive and waited, watching the kitchen window intently to make sure that he was home before striding purposefully up to the front door. Morris knocked three times and waited.

"What do you want?" The man grunted, police sirens screeching in the distance.

"My name is Doctor Kadi Morris, I'm with the FBI behavioural analysis unit. I'd like to ask you some questions down at my office, is that okay?" She asked calmly, wondering what the lump in his breast pocket was.

"What is this about? I ain't answering no questions for no police." He twitched, flexing his hands and rocking on his heels, avoiding her gaze.

"Sir, I'm with the FBI, not the police." Three blaring police cars and one black van turned down the road. "I'm here about a series of murders in the neighbourhood." The cars stopped in front of the house and Rossi was the first to appear, clutching his gun tightly.

"We don't want any trouble, Timothy-" He began

"It's fine, I can handle it-" Agent Morris was cut off when she was pulled roughly by the hair, Timothy's arm wrapped around her chest, knife pressing sharply into her neck.

"Let me leave and no-one has to get hurt!" He shouted, visibly shaking.

"Is that what you told you mother, Tim?" Croaked Morris, struggling to swallow.

"What the hell is she doing?" Morgan growled as they stepped slowly towards the house, guns in hand.

"I mean it, I'll slice her-"

"We both know you lack the finess to slice, you tend to hack, isn't that right? Isn't that what happened to your mother Tim, whilst she was in the bath?" He pressed the knife harder into her neck, drawing blood.

"I'll kill you, you whore! Shut up and let me leave or she dies!" He shouted, visibly shaking.

"We know what you did, Tim. We know that you killed your mother for destroying your family, we know what your father made you do, that he was suffering, that he made you kill him."

"You don't know nothing!" He whimpered, loosening his grip slightly, enough for Morris to twist round and send him flying onto the grass. She pressed her heel sharply into his back, touching the beads of blood ringing her neck.

"Well?" She said expectantly.

"Aren't you going to handcuff him?" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Oh great, what's she doing here?" Agent Morgan grumbled as Penelope elbowed him in the stomach.

"I invited her, don't be mean, she's an absolute cutie when you get to know her... I think."

Dr Morris placed down her briefcase at the bar and ordered a martini. She eyed each member of the team expectantly.

"Well?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and mussing up her hair. "Aren't you going to congratulate me?"

"For what, almost getting yourself killed?" Morgan muttered bitterly, earring him a glare from Penelope that swiftly shut him up. Agent Rossi chuckled and took a sip of scotch.

"Congratulations, Ms Morris." He mused. "Although getting a knife to the throat isn't exactly how I would do it."

"I'm interested, Dr Morris, how did you come to your conclusion?" Reid asked politely and she smirked, doe-like eyes wide and seemingly sparkling.

"You know what, Spencer? I think I'd rather discuss your upcoming article, if you don't mind." Spencer looked shocked.

"Oh, um, thank you Dr Morris-" "Please," she murmured

"Call me Kadi." The two perched themselves at a table and began discussing statistics application immediately. Rossi chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Emily enquired as they sat themselves at another table.

"That girl is going to be trouble." And they all nodded in agreement, but Rossi wasn't sure that he was going to mind.

Penelope smiled mischievously.

"What is it, baby girl? know that face, you're up to something." Morgan grinned, arm around her shoulders.

"Operation set up Kadi Morris is go."


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh look, the only spare seat, there you go Reid-" Morgan more or less threw Reid into Agent Morris' lap and she rolled her eyes, returning to her reading as Reid mumbled embarrassedly. Morgan smirked and fell back into his own seat haphazardly, winking at Penelope who hid herself behind a sheet of paper. "You can nerd it up together."

"Nerd implies I lack social skills and am boringly studious, neither of which are true." Morris snapped. Rossi chuckled and she shot him a glaring look, wrinkling her nose in annoyance.

"Oh of course not, your social skills are perfect..." Emily muttered, reclining into her chair

"Has everyone read up on the case?" Hotch stood before them, file open in front of him with the photographs of four beautiful women sprawled in dirt. "Our unsub is targeting professional women with high ranking jobs. Reid, Morgan and Emily, I want you to work on the profile, find whatever you can to help Garcia narrow down the subject pool. Agent Morris, you and Dave can go talk to the families, see what they may have forgotten to mention." Morris relaxed into her seat, faint turbulence softening her aching limbs as Rossi nodded at her. What a repugnant man, she thought.

"Looks like its you and me, Kiddo." Rossi remarked, straightening the lapels of his jacket as Kadi scowled, picking up her pace as they walked into the burning mid day sun. Las Vegas was experiencing an unbearably hot summer, as per usual, and Morris felt the heat soaking through her shoes from the scalding pavement. Beads of sweat crowned her forehead but Rossi seemed unaffected as he reached to open the car door for her, receiving a sneer in response.

"My name is Dr Morris." She snapped, slamming on the air conditioning as Rossi slid the car out of park.

"Excuse me?" He raised an eyebrow, flicking the indicator and waiting for a hoard of cars to crawl past.

"You called me Kiddo, my name is Dr Morris."

"Now, how far do you think you're going to get with that attitude?" He remarked and she snorted.

"Don't patronise me, Agent Rossi. You may be older than me but that does not make you my superior."

"Oh really? I was certain that that was exactly what it meant." The cool leather interior soothed Kadi's burning skin as she slipped off her shoes and curled her toes. Her wide, tortoiseshell sunglasses shielded her face from Rossi's stare.

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, Agent." Rossi laughed, stealing a glance at the young woman perched beside him. "I happened to read some of your works last night. Very...uninspired."

"Uninspired? I'll make sure to add that to the quotes on the back of the book." His eyes creased at the edges when he smiled, a warm, soft smile. As if he was truly content with the world. He could fill a room with his presence - charismatic yet understated, for all his wealth didn't change his image of an eager, veteran agent. It was as if the last twenty years left nothing affected but the slight crease of his skin and subtle shading of his hair - he was still the same old agent, willing to impress and inquisitive to a tee.

"Tell me, where do you get off on being a sell out? I'm intrigued. I could write literary works far superior than yours but I don't stoop to such standards."

"I believe that the world already has a taste for the macabre, it's only fair that they get a real insight into it." Kadi giggled. A real, feminine giggle. Rossi stared at her in disbelief.

"Oh, sorry!" She laughed. "I thought that was a joke!"

"I'm glad you find it so funny, Ms Morris. I don't understand how you can frown upon my work when all I'm doing is trying to educate. Surely that's something you know a lot about?" Kadi stopped giggling abruptly.

"Trying to educate? I try and educate and all I get is accusations of being a 'bitch', not a full bank account and expensive house." She sneered, becoming cold once more and seemingly retreating back into herself. Rossi, an expert profiler, pretended not to notice but his curiosity was peaked.

They pulled up at a neat, white suburban house. Weather worn, lovingly painted wooden panels enclosed the warm exterior but the inside of the house showed signs of wear - tattered curtains, windows so caked in dust that they might as well been opaque. The garden was neat and precise, hiding the chaos within. They were at the house of Thomas Sanders, wife of one of the recent victims - Carla Sanders.

Rossi slipped on his sunglasses, stepping round to the side of the car and opening the door for his partner. She glared profusely and stepped out, purposefully avoiding his outstretched hand as he tried to help her down.

"Kiddo, you forgot something." Rossi raised an eyebrow, clutching a pair of black patent heels.

"I think better without shoes." Rossi gained the impression that for all her knowledge, Kadi Morris was emotionally immature. Her childhood was stunted by her academic prowess. He felt a pang of sympathy. That was, until she snatched the shoes from his hand and became less of an oppressed child and more of a spoilt toddler.

"After you, Kiddo." Their eyes met and his sparkled with amusement, deep and brown and drenched in emotion. Hers burned with fierce passion, amber in the sunlight as she wrinkled her nose. A habit, he noticed.

Kadi strode purposefully towards the gate which swung open with creaking uncertainty, as if the hinges themselves doubted their own condition. The cobbled path was uneven and cracked, gaping chasms of soil visible beneath the slabs. Her whole body swayed as she walked with definitive certainty, curves visible beneath the purple blouse.

She knocked thrice, fingering the holster at her waist, that she begrudgingly accepted from Hotch, and waited.

"Who are you?" A dishevelled, confused man opened the door. His hair was limp and greasy with the build up of several days without washing. His clothes were clearly slept in, creased and crumpled, hanging from his skeletal frame.

"Thomas Sanders? My name is Dr Kadi Morris. This is my partner, SSA Rossi. May we come in? We'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Are you cops?" He closed the door slightly, peering through the crack.

"No sir, we're with the FBI's Behavioural Analysis-" he slammed the door in her face and thunderous footsteps echoed from inside.

"He's making a run for it, you go round the back, I'll follow through the house." Morris nodded and ran off, cocking her gun and secretly glad of its protection. She veered round the edge of the property, weaving between stacks of gardening equipment and miscellaneous scrap - an old tire, a broken bicycle frame and the skeleton of a camping tent.

"Mr Sanders, you have nothing to run from! We just want to ask you some questions!" She shouted, reaching the back of the property and seeing him disappear into an alley way joined to his garden fence. Rossi burst from the house but Kadi got there first, thundering down the path with him so close behind her she could almost feel his breath on her neck.

"Stay back!" Thomas had taken a wrong turn and was now backed into a dead end, cowering slightly.

"Mr Sanders, it's okay, we just want to ask you some questions about your wife, Carla-"

"SHE IS NOT MY WIFE!" He roared, causing Kadi to take a step back. She placed her gun back in its holster to show that she was not a threat.

"It's okay, Thomas. We just want to talk, that's all." She stepped cautiously forwards, palms outstretched. "It's okay, I know that you blame yourself for what happened to Carla-"

"I wasn't there..." He was visibly shaking. "I WASN'T THERE!" Kadi took another step, arms width away from him now, causing him to flinch.

"I know, Thomas. But you can help us now-"

"No, NO! You're just going to blame me! That's what always happens!"

"Thomas, this is not your fault-"

"Morris, no!" She placed her hand on his arm and he snapped. Before she even knew what was happening her head hit the floor and she stared into the canopy of trees above, warmth seeping out from between her fingers. She gasped for breath, only just aware of a deep male voice shouting at her, a thud on the ground next to her and the clicking of handcuffs. A man appeared over her, kneeling beside her and pressing his hands firmly into her stomach, blood smeared across his face as he stared at the knife protruding from her abdomen.

"Stay with me, Kiddo!" He shouted, his voice warped and twisted by her fading consciousness. Rough hands hoisted her off of the floor and she was just aware of the blaring of ambulance sirens and the shouting of agent Rossi before everything went dark and the last fringes of her consciousness melted away.


	4. Chapter 4

"Thomas Sanders is in police custody for assaulting an FBI field officer who remains in a critical condition at Las Vegas General hospital. The officer, who remains unnamed, is yet to comment on her ordeal. Back to you in the studio." An angry hissing filled Kadi's head as the tv was switched off.

"Damn press." A woman muttered, pacing beside her bed in a clanging of heavy jewellery and tapping of heels. Kadi's head felt muggy, swirling black and greys as she reached through her unconsciousness, trying to put a name to the sounds suddenly flooding her head.

"Any change?" A rough voice grunted, a jangle of beads suggesting that the woman has shaken her head.

"The doctors said they would inform us if there was any change. The poor baby." A hand clasped hers firmly and she felt the warmth ricochet up her forearm.

"Inform you of what?" Kadi tried to asked, managing a slurring mumble that sounded reminiscent of a child speaking with a mouth full of food. Penelope Garcia squealed, earning a glare from agent Rossi whose jaw set rigid, causing his creased skin to tighten.

"You're awake! Oh thank god! You had us worried there kitten!" Footsteps crowded the doorway as the bedridden woman tried to open her eyelids past more than a fraction.

"Don't scare the girl, Garcia," Morgan winked, arm wrapping around Penelope's wide shoulders. "You gave us quite the scare." He smiled at Kadi, less warmly than he would bestow to anyone else but she didn't notice. Her eyes were fixed on Rossi as he more or less growled under his breath.

"You stupid girl." He stepped forwards and she flinched. "Why did you touch him? For all your years of education-" he more or less spat the word "- did it not occur to you that he was a paranoid schizophrenic?"

"Easy, Rossi," Emily stepped forwards, holding him back slightly with her arm as he glowered,

"You could have gotten both of us killed, what the hell were you thinking?" Kadi swallowed, dragging herself upright and fingering the bandage laced around her stomach.

"I didn't though."

"What was that?" He spat as Hotch entered the room.

"I didn't get us killed though, did I?" Rossi stared at her incredulously and Hotch placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Dave, can I talk to you outside a moment?" He gave Rossi a stern face and he nodded, loyal to his friend. Kadi glared at him as he left before Penelope's chubby arms were flung around her neck.

"Where's Dr Reid?" She asked softly, suffocating slightly in Penelope's grasp. She pulled away and winked at Morgan.

"Why do you care so much?" He jested, smirking slightly. A bustling doctor and series of nurses filed into the room. His cold hands prodded and poked at her abdomen as she winced, fresh stitches protruding through the fabric of her nightgown. The back of her head was sore, and tender to the touch as one of the nurses examined the wound.

"I don't care." She said coldly, pausing slightly. "I just have a lot to discuss with him. We haven't finished our debate yet."

"Dave, you can't react like that to another member of the team, I simply won't have it. I know that you're my friend and you deserve my respect, but Agent Morris is an accomplished young woman and she is worthy of your respect."

"Hotch, she has no regard for authority." Rossi ran a hand through his peppered hair.

"I understand that Dave, I really do. But she's young and inexperienced, the team could be really good for her. You're going to have to get used to it." Rossi sighed, rubbing his stubbled, leathered skin in exasperation. Back in the room Penelope brought out a large comb, extravagant pink scrunchie and a scarf from the depths of her purse. She combed Kadi's hair within an inch of its life as she squirmed.

"Ms Garcia, I'm not a child-"

"No, but I that he queen of all that is Internet, so be nice to me or I'll cut you off."

"She's serious, you know. I once told her a dress didn't suit her and I lost my Internet access for a week." Morgan grinned and Penelope rolled her eyes, adjusting her own hair. Today it was finished off with bright orange tassels trailing down from each bunch, clashing awfully with her own lurid shade of orange.

"Okay, fine." She huffed. "Can you tell Reid to hurry up? I have to win a chess game in under a minute." Pretentious as always, Kadi rolled her eyes as Garcia tried to doll her up. But secretly, she enjoyed it. Garcia was a very easy woman to get on with - bubbly, chatty, and just the right amount of nerd. She had in fact seemed to begin to break down the younger woman's facade and was the closest of the team to seeing her true self.

"Just a minute, sugar." She finished tying the fluffy pink scrunchy as Kadi's large orbs stared at her from beneath her hair. "There, perfecto! Well, not as perfecto as mr handsome over there, but that'll do."

"Baby girl, what did I tell you about making the other ladies jealous?" Morgan joked. Emily stifled a laugh as an incredibly straight faced Hotch stepped back into the room.

"The FBI have assigned us to another case. I just got a call from the sherrif saying that Sanders has confessed to all accounts and the Bureau doesn't want to pursue it any longer than is necessary."

"But Hotch, we know for a fact it wasn't him!" Emily protested, arms folded across her chest as her dark hair swept sulkily in front of her face.

"I know, Emily, but it's on Strauss' orders. As my superior she gets the final say. The plane leaves in half an hour-"

"But sir!" Kadi blurted out, showing more emotion than she had done in the past three days put together. Her eyes widened and she sat bolt upright, almost tearing her stitches out of her stomach, causing her to wince I'm pain. "Sir, I don't have my things! If someone lets me borrow a shirt I could just quickly get dressed and-"

"No, Agent Morris. You're staying here until the Doctor says you're well enough to leave. Rossi is remaining behind to keep you company. We'll see you in a couple of days." Hotch, as ever, remained emotionless. The same could not be said for Rossi who lurked in the halfway, jaw twitching and hands clenched.

"Sir..." She trailed off, collapsing defeated in the bed and pouting like a spoilt child denied a new toy. The others exchanged glances. "But what about Reid?"

"Reid is remaining here to see his mother for a few days. No doubt he'll come to visit later. For now, focus on getting well. We need you back on the job as soon as possible." Hotch nodded, turned on his heel and left, Prentiss and Morgan not too far behind.

"Oh goodbye sweet thing!" Penelope swept her up into a tight, suffocating hug. "Please get well quickly, I need to show you the new code I'm developing and these other boring people don't understand it like you do." Kadi mustered a small nod of agreement as Penelope trotted off, calling out to Morgan to wait for her. She turned and met Rossi's gaze. He slowly turned his head, choosing instead to peer between the slats of the hospital room window. He sighed.

"This had better be worth my time, Ms Morris. I won't put up with lousy hospital food for nothing." She reclined on the bed, stretching out her aching legs and rubbing the top of her calves.

"Believe me, it's not my idea for you to be here. I'd rather talk to the ceiling fan than remain trapped talking to a boring sellout like you." Rossi laughed, lowering himself into the seat beside the bed and taking a small, leather bound notebook from his jacket pocket.

"I was doing this job probably before you were born, Kiddo, and I don't remember my team members being quite so insufferable." Kadi sighed and rolled over on the bed, facing away from Rossi.

"Can you try to keep it down? Maybe I'll wake up and this nightmare will be over."

"Am I really that bad to be around?" Rossi asked sarcastically.

"Let's see, you're entitled, boring, rude, obnoxious and aggressive-"

"Aggressive?" He asked incredulously, crossing one leg over the other. "Since when have I been aggressive?" He raised a sleek black eyebrow as the warm afternoon sun settled on his chiseled features.

"Shouting at me after I just got violently stabbed isn't exactly 'nice'" she rolled over, turning to face him and study his reaction.

"Getting stabbed in the first place wasn't exactly a great idea, Ms Genius." Kadi huffed like a sulky teenager, crossing her arms over her stomach and staring upwards at the ceiling.

"At least I don't pretend I'm still of worth in my job-"

"You've been part of the BAU for three days and you're nothing more than an entitled-"

"Anyone up for a game of chess?" A voice interjected from the doorway, silencing Rossi as he sank back into quiet seclusion, surveying the young woman in the bed in front of him with disgruntled angst. Kadi, meanwhile, pretended he wasn't even there, praying for the clock to creep forwards once more so that there was one less hour left for them to sit in stony silence.


End file.
